I shuffled through the papers in my attache as the taxi took off.
“So, do you understand the sensitive nature of the assignment?” the voice at the other end of the line asked.
“It’s pretty far fetched, Cook,” I said, looking at the picture of a girl that looked just like I had in high school. Even down to the leather coat. “This isn’t one of those hazing assignments for rookies, is it?”
“I assure you, it isn’t.” Cookie Pusher said over the line. “This has been decided to be a highly covert observation detail, mostly focusing on information control. If word got out that there was another world out there, there could be panic. Corporations would vie to get ahold of the resources.”
“How much do you know about it?” I asked.
“More than I can tell you at this time, Ms. Shimmer.”
“Can you share anything beyond what’s in this woefully thin file?”
“All I can tell you is that she is connected to several high ranking members of the ruling class of the other world. We are in talks about establishing a diplomatic relationship, but my superiors are demanding a closer eye on those that may have ties here. As you can see, there are good reasons to be wary.”
I looked at the picture again. It was uncanny how much she looked like me, but there was something in her eyes that I don’t remember feeling at that age.
She was happy. When I was in highschool, I was undoubtedly the queen bee and more than a little bit of a bitch. Getting expelled had been the wake up call for me.
I wondered what had gone on in this girl’s life that had made it so different.
“I take it from your silence that you’re mulling it over?”
I sighed. “I’ll read through these documents and the videos youve sent and get back to you tonight. Is that acceptable?”
Cook’s voice held a satisfied tone. “Perfectly. Of course, this is to remain top secret.”
I nodded.
“Of course.”
I leaned back against my couch, a glass of wine cradled in my hand as I watched the video that had been included in the file on the girl.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing; the girls sprouting wings or equine ears and some sort of giant horse made of light in the sky, blasting down with a rainbow colored beam at a stage. My doppelganger had been part and parcel to that event. I glanced down at a response text from my boss.
It’s all true.
I rewound the video and watched for a fourth time, marveling at the events again. Once it had ended, I turned off the player and set my wineglass down, posting my head in my hands and started going over the new facts.
Alternate worlds were real.
Alternate versions of me existed.
Alternate versions of me with magic of some sort existed.
A world where ponies had evolved as the dominant species existed.
And I was being asked to be part of the task force to keep an eye on the gateway between the two worlds. To be a profiler for personages that may be dealt with across the table in coming months.
I picked up my phone and called Cook. He seemed to be expecting my call as he picked up after the second ring.
“Yes?” he said.
“If I do this, I want the full story. I can’t help you profile someone without suitable information.”
“Not even your twin?”
“Especially not her.” I pinched the bride of my nose. “Beyond the age difference, there is obviously something different to her at the core. Without understanding that, I can’t hope to accurately profile her.”
There was silence on the line for several moments before a grunt of assent.
“Agreed. Come to the Canterlot field office Monday and we’ll get you situated. Make sure to keep this to yourself till then, understood?”
I sighed heavily. Seems life was about to get a bit more hectic soon. So much for binging the new shows coming out on the weekends.
“Understood.” I agreed.
As the line went dead, I stared at the photo from the file again.
“Just who are you?” I whispered, not expecting a response.
Monday found me standing in the marble-lined floors of the field office. I was tapping my foot as I waited for the elevator to arrive.
And ignore the very annoying man standing next to me.
“I daresay, there are so many more things to wear in this place than the same black suits.” He smiled his snaggletoothed grin. “Why not get some flair in the outfit?”
“I don’t care,” I replied with strained patience. Just who was this clown?
“Not with an attitude like that,” he continued. “But I have things to be about. Toodles!
I turned to give the automatic goodbye only to find the space he had occupied empty. Glancing around revealed no sign of him anywhere.
“What in…”
The elevator chose that moment to ding and open before me.
As I stepped in, I shook my head in confusion.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
The floor the elevator deposited me on was very spartan. Just a small cubicle farm and a few office doors. I found Cookie Pusher’s quickly and stepped through it..
“Ah, Sunset, welcome.” he said, gesturing at the chair across from his desk. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you, sir,” I replied, smoothing my skirt before sitting.
“I’ll be honest with you, this won’t be a quick and easy task.” He pulled a thick folder from his desk. “There are at least ten individuals that the State Department believe to be counterparts of high ranking members of the other side. Those are your priorities.”
He handed the file over and I gave it a cursory glance. I vaguely recognized some of the faces from passing on the local bus or in line at the supermarket.
“What kind of threat does this world present, sir?”
“What makes you think it does?”
I scratched my cheek. “According to that footage, they clearly have some sort of weapon that I don’t understand. While I couldn’t see any apparatus involved, that doesn’t mean that -”
“Stop.”
I looked up at him with confusion.
“The threat level has already been determined as minimal at best by people far higher up than us. Small greetings have been exchanged. What we are doing now is preparing for the larger meetings, which we will be in charge of.”
He looked at me. “And your job is to make sure we don’t make a mess of it. Now, as more information comes to light, I will forward it to you. What I want right now is a baseline feeling about the people in that file.”
“So I’m just a dowsing rod, sir?” I asked.
“For right now, yes.” He stepped over and put a hand on my shoulder. “But you will be part of the team for negotiations when the time comes. You never know what will happen.”
As I was shown to my own office, I couldn’t help but think about what had been told to me. I was going to be in charge of how the negotiations between our government and a foreign nation I had next to no knowledge of would proceed.
No pressure at all.
Author's Note
Just a little subset of Sunset from this side of the mirror. Probably not going to be canon at any reach, but it was a fun little earworm that I had at work the other day.
